Young, blind and eager to cook pizza

April 26, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Amaris Cabral, 3, who is visually impaired, has a laugh while making pizzas with her brother Isaiah, 7, at Prego Ristorante in Irvine on Thursday. The pair was with the Blind Children's Learning Center in Santa Ana using pizza-making as a tactile learning activity. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Visually impaired student Isaiah Adkins, 5, has his chef's hat adjusted a little too big as his dad Joey Rodriguez tries to help him out during a pizza-making visit to Prego Ristorante in Irvine. Adkins and his classmates at the Blind Children's Learning Center in Santa Ana make pizzas as a tactile activity. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Visually impaired student Brayden, 4, gets a feel for the dough during a pizza-making visit to Prego Ristorante in Irvine. Students at the Blind Children's Learning Center in Santa Ana made pizzas as a tactile learning activity. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Visually impaired student Sawyer King, 4, helps Executive Chef Ugo Allesina take a pizza out of the oven during a pizza-making visit to Prego Ristorante in Irvine on Thursday. King and his classmates at the Blind Children's Learning Center in Santa Ana made pizzas as a tactile activity. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Student Keilani Sullivan and her visually impaired sister Makayla, from left, enjoy their pizza during a pizza-making visit to Prego Ristorante in Irvine on Thursday. Students at the Blind Children's Learning Center in Santa Ana made pizzas as a tactile learning activity. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Visually impaired student Sawyer King, 4, gets help with his chef's hat and apron from teacher Jenny Sharp during a pizaa-making visit to Prego Ristorante in Irvine. King and his classmates at the Blind Children's Learning Center in Santa Ana made pizzas as a tactile activity. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Visually impaired student Hope Phillips feels the cheese during a pizza-making visit to Prego Ristorante in Irvine. Students at the Blind Children's Learning Center in Santa Ana made pizzas as a tactile learning activity. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Visually impaired student Makayla Sullivan gets her pizza out of the oven with Executive Chef Ugo Allesina during a pizza-making visit to Prego Ristorante in Irvine on Thursday. Sullivan and her classmates at the Blind Children's Learning Center in Santa Ana made pizzas as a tactile learning activity. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Visually impaired student Brayden, 4, gets a feel fro the dough during a pizza-making visit to Prego Ristorante in Irvine. Students at the Blind Children's Learning Center in Santa Ana made pizzas as a tactile learning activity. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Amaris Cabral, 3, who is visually impaired, has a laugh while making pizzas with her brother Isaiah, 7, at Prego Ristorante in Irvine on Thursday. The pair was with the Blind Children's Learning Center in Santa Ana using pizza-making as a tactile learning activity.PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Then, wearing a white chef's hat and apron, Hope Phillips, age 6, worked the dough with her tiny fingers.

"It feels soft and flabby and cold and round," said Hope, her nose dotted with flour.

Soon, the dough was baking in a 700-degree, wood-burning stone hearth. In a few minutes, Hope would be eating her own, unique masterpiece — broccoli pizza.

When it arrived, Hope mowed through two slices.

"This is good," she said between bites. "I love food!"

Hope, who is visually impaired, was one of 18 students at the Blind Children's Learning Center in Santa Ana who spent part of Thursday on a field trip to Prego Ristorante in Irvine. There, the kids got a hands-on lesson in cooking.

Tactile activities are crucial for the development of visually impaired children. They heavily rely on their non-vision senses to experience what sighted people take for granted.

Isaiah Adkins, 5, whose sight was severely damaged when he was violently shaken at age 7 months in an incident that caused his brain to swell and nearly killed him, had been looking forward to the pizza-cooking adventure all week, said his father, Joey Rodriguez, or Orange.

"What do you want on your pizza?" Rodriguez asked his son Thursday.

"Pepperoni."

"Any cheese?" his father asked.

"String cheese."

Isaiah can see things only close up out of his left eye, and he also has tunnel vision, Rodriguez said. Doctors say it's too early to tell if his vision can be corrected through surgery.

The outing to Prego, a fine-dining establishment with a sports bar, was among several "life skill adventures" that kids at the Blind Children's Learning Center regularly take, said Carolyn Baker, director of development at the school, which annually serves about 375 students from birth to 21 years old with classes at the center and in-home programs.

Thursday morning, before the restaurant opened for lunch, Prego executive chef Ugo Allesina worked the tables, patiently teaching the kids how to form the dough into flat circles and cover them with sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Hope was the only kid to venture beyond plain cheese with her unconventional topping choice of broccoli.

Twins Keilani and Makayla Sullivan, 4, sat side by side as they quietly crafted their lunches.

Born prematurely, at 27 weeks, Makayla developed retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), which in serious cases can lead to blindness. A surgical implant keeps the retina in her left eye attached; Makayla struggles with depth perception and a narrow field of vision, said her mother, Trisha Sullivan, 37, of Lake Forest.

"The school's so great about giving these kids experiences that are tactile," Sullivan said. "They wouldn't be as functional as they are now if it wasn't for this school."

Four-year-old Braydon (his parents did not want his last name used) had fun transforming his dough and sauce into a stringy mess.

"It's slimy!" Braydon said.

He added: "Uh oh, I want to wash my hands."

Amaris Cabral, 3, has poor sight in one eye that has led to delays in development of her motor skills, said her mother, Laura Cabral. She wears a patch over her good eye to help her improve vision in her weaker eye. The patch sometimes makes her self-conscious around her sighted peers, her mother said.

"An event like this is great," Laura Cabral said. "Being around other kids who have vision issues makes her feel normal."

The pizzas finally arrived for Keilani and Makayla. The identical twins dug in.

"It's hot!" Makayla said.

They gave the pizza a big thumbs-up. Would they be saving some leftovers for their parents and big brother?

Her mouth full, her right eye covered by a patch with purple butterflies, Makayla shook her head.

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